The atmosphere was grim the next morning. No one said anything. What was there to say? Moon and Night sat at the dining table. Rune sat still on the couch with Hyde next to him, his thoughts spiralling down a rabbit hole.

They were after them. They had waited for him to come here before killing her, so he’d feel threatened. They’d go after his sisters next. His grandad. Hyde. They’d kill him again. What could they do? Clearly, he wasn’t capable of protecting them himself. Lullaby would still be here if he was.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Hyde asked beside him.

Rune flinched. “I… I’m scared they’ll come after the rest of us.”

Hyde sighed and took his hand into his own. “We’ll not let anyone go out alone again until this is all over. And if we have to go alone, stay in populated, well-lit areas.”

“Then what about my grandad? He lives on his own.” Rune’s eyes widened. “How would I know he’s still okay? None of us have seen him in two days.”

Hyde opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Night from the kitchen, saying, “Then go see him, so you can calm down. That was your plan, right?”

“Well, yeah. But I won’t leave you two alone.” He squinted, then turned back to Hyde. He wanted him to come with him to Veritas, but this was more important. “Could you stay here with them?”

Hyde frowned. “You want to go alone?”

“I’ll stay in busy areas, like you said. I want you to meet my grandad, but please, keep them safe.”

“I—”

“Are you sure he could protect us?” Moon asked.

“Very.”

“Why?” Hyde asked.

“You’d be perfect. Your heightened senses could smell or hear something off and if anyone breaks in, you could let yourself lose control and go ham.”

“I’d rather not.”

Rune sighed and turned to fully face him. He grabbed his hands. “I know you don’t like to, but I also know you can if necessary. Promise me you’ll protect them, whatever it takes. Even if you have to slaughter a whole group of people.”

Hyde stared at him, unsure and a little scared. “That’s a big ask.”

“It’s a big situation.” Rune frowned. “I’d rather not ask this of you, but please,” he leaned closer and held his hands tighter, “promise me.”

Hyde was quiet for a bit, then took a deep breath. “I promise.”

Rune smiled in relief. “Thank you.” He let his hands go and stood up. He grabbed the two books on the couch and his backpack off the floor. “Then I’ll go. I’ll take my grandad to Enath so you can meet him.”

“I don’t know if he’d want to, he was just here,” Night commented.

Rune looked at her with a glare. “I’ll drag him by his good leg, if I have to.”

Night chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

Rune glanced back at Hyde, who wasn’t having a good time. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on his head, then ruffled his hair a little. Hyde turned his face up to him, Rune smiled. “I’ll see you later today, okay?”

Hyde smiled back a little. “Okay.

Hyde sat at the dining table. He decided to write a letter home to let them know where he was. And so they could contact him if they wanted.

He bit his pen, thinking of everything he wanted to tell them. So much had happened. How to start? Should he tell them about everything? Maybe not through a letter. He sighed and brought the pen to the paper.

Hello family,

I’m in the north, in Enath. With Rune’s family. So, in case you wanted to contact me, this is where I am right now.

I’ve decided I don’t want to live in that village anymore, so when I come back south, I’ll come home.

Rue

Shit. Hyde crossed it out. Rue? Sounded kind of cute, actually.

Rue Rune and I are a couple, now. I’m sure that surprises none of you.

So, yes.

I’m gay.

There.

That’s all the coming out you’ll get from me.

The north is cold. Especially now that we’re going into fall. I’m constantly sitting at the fireplace with a blanket. It’s pretty cosy. I don’t know if I want to experience what winter is like here. But seeing snow for the first time would be neat.

If anything special is going on back home, let me know.

Love you,

Hyde

----------------------------------------

Rune made his way through the city centre after the half-hour long train ride. Buildings were up to five or six stories tall, the streets were wide to handle the amount of people. There were small roofs for shade everywhere for vampires, but of course everyone could hide from the rain or snow under them. He spotted a vampire food store. He forgot how accommodating the city was to vampires after years away.

Towards his grandfather’s house, Rune made sure to take the most visible, well-lit routes he could. He lived in a calm, quiet neighbourhood near the outskirts of Veritas. Once there, he searched for the house. They were rather small, brick row-homes with porches in front, big enough for two or three people.

Rune arrived at the house, his heart skipped a beat. Five years. Five years, he had waited for this. They’d both waited for this. He took a deep breath and walked up the steps to the front door. He knocked twice. He held his breath as he listened for the noises inside. Was he home? Was he okay? Had the gang gotten to him?

Footsteps came to the door, the doorknob twisted. It opened. A man looking to be in his late thirties showed his face, not a hint of grey in his pale brown hair or his light stubble. Raspberry red eyes pierced into Rune.

Rune smiled a little. “Hey. I’m back.”

Thomas grabbed his arm and pulled him inside into a tight hug, then closed the door with his foot.

Before Rune could hug him, Thomas let go and pulled the backpack off Rune’s shoulders. “Get that off,” he complained. The bag dropped to the ground.

He locked his arms around his grandson again, without the bag being in the way. Rune hugged him tight with his chin on his shoulder as he teared up. Thomas gripped Rune’s hair and rubbed his face against his head.

“Welcome home,” Thomas’s voice cracked.

Rune sadly chuckled. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

Thomas let him go and put his hands on Rune’s cheeks, he smiled with tears in his eyes. “Some timing you had, coming home the first time,” he chuckled.

“How was I supposed to know you’d be away exactly that month?”

Thomas shook his head and let his hands down, still smiling. He stepped towards the door to the living room. “Come sit on the couch, there’s a lot I’d like you to tell me.”

“Yeah.” Rune glanced at the bookshelves standing proudly in the hallway. He grabbed his bag off the floor as he said, “Wait.” He pulled the zipper open and got the two books out. He handed them to Thomas. “These are yours.”

Thomas took them and looked at them, one in each hand. “Oh.”

“Night asked me to give that one back, and the other is the one I took, last time.”

“Okay.” Thomas went to his shelves and placed both books in their spot.

“So no, Night didn’t lose it,” Rune teased. “I stole it. I’ve been getting good at that the past five years.”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Thomas turned to him with an unimpressed, arched brow. “Speaking of the past five years.” He pointed towards the living room. “Couch.”

“Okay, okay.” Rune walked into the living room. He sat on the couch, on the right side. Thomas came to the couch too, sitting on the left with his left leg folded under him and his right stretched over the side, facing Rune. Rune saw him thinking, probably of what to ask first.

Thomas took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you keep in touch?”

“Didn’t Night and Moon tell you? I told them.”

“No.”

“What did they tell you?”

“That you came by and stayed for two weeks, and you brought a guy with you that you were suspiciously close to.”

“Suspiciously,” Rune laughed. “Well, yeah, he’s my boyfriend now. But that can wait. I didn’t keep in touch, because I didn’t want to put you all at risk.”

“How would that put us at risk?”

“When you’re stealing from people all around the continent, you’re bound to make some people upset. I didn’t want to risk one of them intercepting any letters I might’ve sent and find out where you live.”

“Yeah, that”—Thomas glanced down—“probably was for the best. How did you finally get out of it?”

Rune tensed and frowned. “I tricked them. With Hyde’s help, my boyfriend. He lived in a small village that I was sent to, and he was kind of like a cop there. But not really, he didn’t have any actual power. But he caught me, and, after we talked for a bit, he came with the idea to lock me in a cell for a few days, so they’d fire me. It seemed to have worked, until a bit over three weeks ago.”

Rune glanced at Thomas, not sure how he’d react. Not well, he guessed, that his grandson had been killed, too. “We were in the village at the time. They attacked us, and they killed me. But then a friend of Hyde’s happened to be researching how to bring back a dead person, and I was her first successful attempt.” He tried to gloss over the killing part. He was alive now, no need to dwell on it.

Thomas stared at him, processing what he was told. He closed his eyes and shook his head, as if to reset his confused brain. “What?”

“Yes, you heard that right. It’s insane, I know.”

“They killed you?”

“Yep.”

“You died?!”

“Sure did.” Rune pulled the collar of his sweater down to show his scar. “Here’s proof.”

Thomas examined it, confused and upset. “How long were you—”

“Three weeks. I’ve been back for… four? Five days?”

“Was it painful?”

“Being dead? No, I didn’t experience anything those three weeks. As if I took a nap. In the blink of an eye, it was three weeks later.”

“I meant more dying itself.”

“Well, I can’t say having a stake rammed into my chest was a comfortable experience.”

Thomas breathed out a chuckle. “Yeah.” He glanced away with furrowed, thoughtful brows. “So, that friend could bring someone back to life, with no repercussions?”

Rune’s eyes widened, getting what he was thinking about. He sighed. “She’d at least need a body.”

Thomas gave him a defeated frown. “Right.”

“Let me ask you a question now, though.”

“What?”

“Why did you leave?”

“Oh, I—” Thomas sighed. “I needed to get away for a while. To get my head straight. Usually, we got a paycheque every month for your work, I used it to make sure you were still okay. But then we didn’t get one, three months ago. I wasn’t sure what to think, I hoped it meant you’d come home soon. But then another month passed, still no cheque, and you weren’t home yet.”

He looked down at his hands, he was rubbing the skin between his thumb and index finger. “I couldn’t stop thinking about what could’ve happened to you; if you were okay, if you were alive, if I was ever going to see you again. It all reminded me of your parents.”

Rune’s heart sank.

“The uncertainty, the anxiety, the fear.” Thomas teared up. “It felt way too familiar.”

Tears stung in Rune’s eyes, too. “I… I’m sorry. I hadn’t considered that. I stayed away for a bit, because I thought you’d all be mad at me for not keeping in touch. I wasn’t ready to come home, yet. But I never meant to put you through that again.”

Thomas shook his head. He pulled Rune against him by his shoulder and hugged him again. “You’re back now, that’s all that matters.”

Rune put his arms around him with a sigh, with his cheek on Thomas’s shoulder.

“I’m afraid I brought something with me, though.”

“What?”

“It seems like the gang isn’t satisfied with killing me. They killed Lullaby yesterday, the exact day I came here.”

Thomas held him tighter. “What?”

Tears escaped Rune’s eyes. “Now, they’ll probably go after Night or Moon, or you, or maybe Hyde. I wanted Hyde to come with me, here, but I couldn’t leave Night and Moon alone right now.”

“You think he can protect them?”

“Yeah, he’s a werewolf. He killed the woman that killed me.”

“Oh.”

“But, can you come to Enath until we know it’s safe again? And to meet my boyfriend.”

Thomas sighed. “Alright. Let me pack some stuff.”

“One more thing,” Rune stopped him.

“Hm?”

Rune let him go. “You know what kind of job Mum and Dad had, right?”

Thomas’s eyes widened.

“They never wanted to tell me. What was it?”

Thomas stared at him. “Uh—”

Rune tensed up. “It was the same as mine, wasn’t it?”

Thomas flinched in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“The woman that killed me first wanted me to kill Hyde, but I couldn’t. Then she called me pathetic and said my father would’ve done it. So apparently, she knew him.”

“What?” Thomas shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t have!”

“Had he killed anyone?” Rune asked, hesitant.

Thomas was quiet for a bit, then frowned. “Once. Accidentally, when he was twenty. It was how he got involved with that gang in the first place. They tried to mug him, they fought. He pushed one of them, they hit their head on something and died. Then they began threatening him, the same way they threatened you, saying he had to replace the one he killed. And then your mum decided to join him in the work, not sure why.”

Rune released the breath he had been holding with a little smile.

Thomas seemed confused. “Is that relieving?”

“Ever since she said that, I had been considering a lot worse options. So yeah, it is.”

“Okay, good.”

“Oh, and can I take another book?”

Thomas chuckled. He pat Rune’s cheek. “Pick whichever one you want.” He stood up and left.

Rune entered the hallway and searched the bookshelves for a new book. He glanced at the small amount of romance books. He knew his grandad wasn’t a big fan of romance, so the ones he did have must be good. He grabbed one. It was a queer fantasy romance about a merman and an ocean researcher. He opened it to the first page to see the written name, along with a little comment.

Very cute.

Rune snickered. He couldn’t imagine him enjoying this, but apparently he did.

Thomas came down the stairs with a bag.

“I didn’t think you’d like this type of stuff,” Rune said as he showed him the book he picked out.

“Hm? Oh.” Thomas chuckled. “I read that decades ago. I did like it at the time.”

“I guess you loved it enough to keep it all these years.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

As Thomas went to grab his coat, Rune flipped to the next page, then squinted his eyes. There was another note, in a different handwriting.

Happy 25th, you little rascal!

“Who wrote this?”

“Huh?” Thomas called out with a slight panic in his voice.

“You read this fifty years ago, damn. Was it a gift?”

Thomas dropped his coat on the floor, rushed to Rune and slammed the book shut in Rune’s hands, making Rune flinch. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Was it?”

Thomas sighed. “Yes.”

“From who?”

“An old friend.”

“I didn’t know you had friends,” Rune teased.

“I did. One.” Thomas grabbed Rune’s backpack off the floor and shoved the book inside. “Take it and let’s go.” He handed Rune his bag. Rune took it, but still squinted at him.

“What happened to them?”

“Probably dead by now.” Thomas took his coat off the floor.

“That’s grim.”

Thomas pulled his coat on. “That’s what happens when you live twice as long as the average person.” He pulled the door open and gestured for Rune to go outside. “Let’s go,” he repeated impatiently.

“Alright, fine.”

----------------------------------------

Hyde sat on the couch in Enath with his notebook on his leg, mindlessly doodling. He wanted to save his mental energy to keep his guard up. Both Moon and Night stayed downstairs, perhaps afraid to be alone. They were both at the dining table, as if they didn’t want to get close to him. Maybe they thought it was awkward without Rune.

“Hey.”

Hyde flinched and turned his head to the table with a hum.

“Why is Rune so certain you can protect us?” Night asked. “And what did he mean with losing control?”

“Oh, well, he’s seen me fight before, a few times. I guess he thinks I’m good at it?” Hyde shrugged.

Night folded her arms. “And what about the control thing?”

Hyde sighed. He turned and leaned his arms and chin on the back of the couch to face them. “Very rarely, when I’m angry or upset or—I don’t know—protective? I can lose control of my wolf. I black out and shift and go ham, as Rune put it.”

“How often does it happen?” Moon asked.

“It’s only happened twice in the twenty years I’ve been able to shift.”

Moon raised her eyebrow. “You can’t shift from birth?”

Hyde shook his head as he chuckled a little. “Can you imagine a baby or a toddler shifting? That would be a nightmare for everyone involved.”

“No, I can’t imagine it, because I still haven’t seen it,” Moon complained.

Hyde huffed. “Maybe some day.”

Moon grinned. “How about today?”

“For your sake, I hope not.”

Moon glared at him.

“What happened those two times you lost control?” Night chimed back in.

“The last time, a girl was attacking and hurting Rune, which pissed me off and I tried to bite her face off.”

“…Fair. And the first time?”

Hyde took a deep breath with a frown. “That time resulted in a big fight. The one where I got all my scars.”

“With who?” Moon asked.

Hyde groaned and glanced away. “A family member.” He pushed himself off the back of the couch. “Now get your noses out of my business.”

Night gave him an angry squint of her eyes. “That’s rich coming from the guy who got all up in our business eight weeks ago.”

Hyde considered it for a moment before clicking his tongue and admitting, “Okay, fine, that’s fair.”

“So, who?”

Hyde sighed and looked away. “My dad. We’ve made up now, though.”

Night’s eyes widened. “Rune said you hadn’t been home in six years. Is that why?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Moon frowned. “At least you made up now.”

Hyde only hummed. He continued his doodles.

He heard the front door open, he looked around.

“Hey!” Rune called out as he entered the living room. “We’re back.”

After him came another man—about the same height; the same light, greyish skin; pale brown hair; wearing a dark blue sweater.

The man spotted Hyde on the couch while Moon came up to him and said, “Grandpa!” and hugged him.

Their grandad smiled at her. “Hey, love.”

Rune came up to Hyde and took his hand. “Come on.” He pulled him along. “I’d like you to meet”—he gestured at his grandad—“my grandpa.”

His grandpa held his hand out to Hyde and smiled again. “Thomas Brightbold, pleasure.”

Hyde shook his hand. “Hyde Walker, nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He smiled back.

Thomas’s eyes widened for a moment. “Walker?”

Hyde raised his eyebrow. “Yes?”

Rune squinted at Thomas. “Do you know that name?”

Thomas turned to Rune. “Oh, no.” He looked back at Hyde. “Sorry. It sounded familiar for a moment, don’t worry about it.”

“Okay…”

“Are you going to stay here, too?” Moon asked Thomas.

“Probably. Safety first, right? And, of course, I wouldn’t mind spending more time with my grandkids.” He ruffled her hair.

Hyde smiled a little. At least there was one good thing about this grim situation. Rune was happy to have his grandad here.

While Thomas spoke to the girls, Rune stood next to Hyde and quietly asked, “No trouble?”

Hyde shook his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Would you hear or smell it if someone was stalking the house?”

Hyde glanced away in thought. “Maybe if I focus on it. But I can’t keep my focus up all the time.”

Rune frowned. “Yeah. Could you do that, a couple times a day? To be safe?”

Hyde grinned with a teasingly raised eyebrow. “You want me to be a guard dog?”

“No, but—you can do things we can’t, and those would be helpful now.”

Hyde snickered. “Yeah, I know. I’ll do it.”

Rune hugged him from the side. “Thank you.” He kissed his cheek. Hyde put his arm around Rune’s waist and leaned his head against his.

“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” Rune whispered into his ear.

“What?”

“Could we ask Selene to bring Lullaby back?”

“…Oh. I hadn’t considered that, but I guess we could.”

“We should wait until her case is closed, though.”

Hyde nodded. “Then we will have to go back to the village at some point.”